Arctic Sea Ice Thinning Faster, Study Shows

March 6, 2015 8:44 AM

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Modern and historic measurements were used by the University of Washington researchers Ron Lindsay and Axel Schweiger for the examination of Arctic sea ice thinness. For the study they combined data from different sources including Navy submarines and satellites. Results revealed that since 1975, sea ice has thinned by 65% in the central part of the Arctic Ocean basin. Measurement of ice thickness is a tough job. For taking measurements, satellites, airborne missions, anchored moorings and submarines each use different methods. The data produced are not always easy to sync with the others.

Some of those differences were resolved by Lindsay and Schweiger in “an attempt to get all the ice thickness measurements into one place.” The researchers’ aim was “to get a broad picture of what the sea ice is doing in the Arctic Ocean that is based more on observations than on a model.” The analys...